Finding Hope (A Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfiction)
by JoelIngrim11
Summary: Hello everyone! My name is Joel, and this is my first ever fanfiction! I hope to produce a fun, relatable, and high octane story for you all! This first chapter will serve as an introduction into the world and some of the main characters! Also to clarify this story will show characters that I've created myself for my Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfiction! Please enjoy!
1. The Rival (Part 1)

_Our story begins in Altru City, a booming metropolis, that boasts an impressive competitive dueling scene. The city is defined by it's tall, beautiful skyscrapers which pierce the skies and proudly show off each of the various companies sponsored duelists. The sponsoring of duelists became a fad in the city after a professional duelist named Takehoko Konido won the "Altru City Duel Gauntlet", an intense dueling tournament that pits various pro duelists in a round robin to decide the champion of Altru city. Takehoko, known by the nickname "Blade", was able to use his Noble Knight cards in order to sweep the competition and win the tournament. And as per the rules of the tournament, he was able to have his name and status immortalized in the champions hall in the city hall. It was one of the cities most popular attractions and garnered the viewing of many city goers, tourists, and various companies in search of a talented duelist to sponsor. One of these onlookers was a young man named Toshiru Ishinaka, an upcoming high school 1st year who had always looked up to the various pro duelists which stood tall at the top of the dueling scene. He had started playing duel monsters as a child for fun, but as he grew older it became a dream of his to enter the pro league and stand on the same stage as his idols. However due to his subdued and quiet nature, he never seems to stand out to others. This story will show his development and evolution, as he tries to gain the title of the #1 duelist in Altru City. _

_One week after the "Altru City Duel Gauntlet"_

"Damn, that Takehoko sure is tough! Really makes you wonder if we could even hold a candle to him if we ever got into the pro league!" Tanio said excitedly

_The tall boy said as his messy hair was blowing in the wind. He could be described as a plain looking person who didn't care about how he looked to others. It was shown by his bed head, and his insistence to wear his signature red jacket and black jeans. Despite both being rather outdated fashion wise._

_"_Yeah... he sure is. Did you hear he's going to our high school this year?" Toshiru said in a quiet voice, as if they would ever get to meet someone like him

"Of course I did! Who hasn't heard?! If I see him I'm definitely going to challenge him! I mean think of it, his Noble Knight deck versus my Shield Deck? It sounds like something out of a storybook, the ultimate Sword against the Ultimate Shield!" Tanio boasted as he puffed out his chest in confidence

"Yeah, you're right haha... that'd be an intense match for sure. The thought of challenging someone like him is enough to make anyone hyped up, and not to mention nervous" Toshiru said quietly

"Come on Toshi, grow a backbone! I mean you were the best duelist back in our middle school club right? You could take on Takehoko easy, like super easy, ultimately ultra supremely easy-" Tanio said as he patted his friend on the pack supportively

"I get it, I get it. It's just..." Toshiru said unsure of himself "How could someone like me ever challenge someone like him? He's strong, cool, popular, outgoing. Everything I'm not haha..." Toshiru said sulking

"Don't say that, I mean you're you right? That already makes you like, a bajillion times cooler than most people! You just have to have more confidence in yourself is all, I mean you have the skills to be just as good as any of them!" Tanio said proudly

"Thanks Tanio, that means a lot. You're right, my road to the pro league is just getting started! We should go finish our registration for school though, it's almost closing time. Besides, I won't have to deal with anyone that strong for a while haha" Toshiru said as he turned the corner leading to the school entrance.

_*THUD*_

"I-I'm sorry! I was so caught up in talking to my friend! Are you alright?" Toshiru said as he picked himself up from the ground after running into the stranger

"No no, it was my fault. I've been trying to evade the paparazzi to get my registration done." said the blonde boy. He was dressed in a black suit, tie and all, he looked like he just came out of a fashion magazine. His shining blonde bangs covered his sunglasses.

"Paparazzi...?" Toshiru said in confusion

"H-hey Toshi, d-do you know who that is?!" said Tanio in shock

"Huh...?" Toshiru looked at the stranger again and his eyes became wide as he realized who he had just walked into

"I should introduce myself, my name is..." the blonde haired boy said as he removed his sunglasses and scarf

"Takehoko"

_How will Toshiru and Tanio react to meeting their idol? Find out in chapter 2!_


	2. The Rival (Part 2)

"Y-you're THE Takehoko...?!" Toshiru said nervously as he looked at the famous duelist

"T-this is... this is..." Tanio stuttered

"AWESOME! You were on duelist monthly, I watched your interview on TV too! Your deck building web series is my favorite show! Tanio said while being completely starstruck

"Thank you very much, I take great pride in showing people new strategies and that every card no matter how strong has worth. And yes that's me, Takehoko "Blade" Konido. But you guys can just call me Takehoko haha" the blonde boy said as he parted his bangs from his eyes

"So cool! Right Toshiru?" Tanio said turning to his friend

"Y-yeah! It's nice to meet you! We haven't introduced ourselves, my name is Toshiru Ishinaka and this is my friend Tanio Iwaota! We're working to be able to enter the pro league someday haha..." Toshiru said as he became embarrassed

"Toshiru and Tanio eh? It's nice to meet you both! And is that so? You two must be impressive duelists then!" Takehoko said as he smiled

"Of course! Toshiru here was the best duelist in our middle school club, and I was our second best duelist!" Tanio said confidently

"You guys sound experienced, that's good. Your experience shows your dedication and love of duel monsters. Also I meant to ask, what are you both doing here? I didn't mean to keep you both." Takehoko said with an embarrassed look

"We're just here to enroll for school, this is one of the best schools to learn how to enter the pro league after all! Are you here to enroll as well?" Tanio replied

"You got me, I got so busy with my pro league duties that I had to wait until the last day to register haha. You guys want to register together?" Takehoko said with a bright smile

"S-sure! I'd be an honor to!" Toshiru said happily

"Please, don't be so formal. I may have won the Gauntlet Tournament but I'm just like any other high school 1st year!" Takehoko said smiling

_And so the three went to the main entrance, the school was enormous. This, was Altru Academy. The school had gotten the reputation for being the birth place of many successful dueling careers, and was famous for accepting all students. However the success of the students would be up to how skilled they were and how hard they worked. For the school offered opportunities for students who not only were talented duelists, but also for those who studied hard and showed a love and respect for the game. The school had three main quadrants, the library where one could research about various cards, effects, and duel records. It was comprised of towering bookcases and computers for research. The study area was a place where students would take various courses on Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, Ritual, Link summoning and more. The teachers there are renowned as being some of the best in their field, with some being retired professionals. This building was in very big, and it was defined by being in the shape of a Red Dragon Archfiend. The last quadrant was known as Dueltopia, this area was a large Blue-Eyes White Dragon looking stadium, resembling the classic Kaiba Dome. This area has many dueling rooms where students could simulate duels, duel each other, or duel professors for a chance to receive internships at pro league workshops. _

"Hello there! It's so nice to see new faces! I assume you three are here to register?" said the receptionist kindly

"Yes we are!" the three boys said in unison

"Perfect, I will need your duel disks in order to upload you all to our database!" the receptionist said happily

_The boys handed her their duel disks, showing the difference in style the three boys had. Takehoko had a new state of the art duel disk, it can equipped with an AI, apps, you name it. It was black and golden in order to match his wardrobe. Toshiru on the other hand had a standard issue duel disk, it wasn't bad or cheap by any means but you could see the difference clearly between this and Takehoro's duel disk. It had a brown and green design in order to match Toshi's green sweatshirt and medium length brown hair. Tanio's duel disk was a classic kaibacorp duel disk, due to his love of old school tech, he had decided to splurge his money on getting a refurbished version and spray painted it red and black to match his outfit as well. But he also added orange tints to match his bright orange hair. The duel disks began to emit a glow while downloading the new data, they sparkled and shined a brilliant light. The boys looked in amazement as they saw their Altru Academy profiles being finished, it showed their deck preferences, tournament experience, win-loss ratios, and more. Takehoko's profile was incredible, 23 pro league duels and not a single loss to his name, Toshiru wasn't too shabby either with an impressive 17 wins to 1 loss and 1 draw. Tanio too had an impressive ratio with 15 wins and 6 losses to his name._

"This is incredible! This school has everything!" Tanio smiled big as he checked out his upgraded duel disk

"Thank you two for keeping me company, I'm so used to being around press, and bodyguards it can be a bit constricting haha. But you guys have made today fun, and for that I am grateful." Takehoko said as he bowed to Toshiru and Tanio

"Y-you don't have to bow trust me! It was an honor to be able to meet you!" Toshiru said as he smiled to himself. '_Takehoko is so famous but under all the fame he's just another person just like us' _Toshiru thought to himself

"Well, I should be going. I'll see you two around." Takehoko said as he started to walk away

"Wait!" Tanio said as he ran after Takehoko

"Yes? What is it Tanio?" Takehoko said rather perplexed

"I would like to challenge you to a duel!" Tanio said, his eyes burning with determination

"A duel with me? Heh, why not, I've been wanting a good duel!" Takehoko said while motioning over to Dueltopia

_A sudden challenge to the current champion! Does Tanio stand a chance? Find out in the next chapter!_


	3. Battle of Wills (Part 1)

_The three boys entered Dueltopia, their duel disks began to light up as they showed their profiles for entry. The proceeded over to the reception desk where they saw 3 men in expensive suits doing paperwork._

"Hello there! My name is Takehoko, I was wondering if my friends and I could use one of your dueling rooms please." Takehoko asked politely

"A group of three eh? We're nearly full but since you're the current Altru City champion I could make an exception" one of the men said as he gave Takehoko and Tanio the paperwork for reserving the room.

"Thank you very much sir" Takehoko said as he bowed to the three men "Let's sit over there guys, it seems to be less crowded." Takehoko said while donning his sunglasses and scarf

The three sat down on the Blue-Eyes themed chairs and started filling out the paperwork. It was a detailed page of the applicants name, duel record, and use for the room. It was incredible to say the least, it was able to support 1v1, 2v2, and even four person free for all duels. They were finishing the page as they saw a tanned, black haired boy approached them. He was around Tanio's height of 5'9 and wore a gray hoodie with yellow pants and shoes, his most distinguishable feature had to be his nose piercing however. He looked at them and smirked

"You... you're the reigning champion Takehoko aren't you?" the dark haired boy said looking Takehoko up and down

"M-me? No no no, I think you have the wrong person haha" Takehoko said while trying to keep the commotion down. The last thing he wanted was to be recognized in such a big area.

"Heh... you're one hell of a duelist but a horrible liar. Your suit gave it away." the dark haired boy said pointing to his checked tie and handkerchief. They had a pattern that only the current champ thought looked good

"Alright, you got me stranger." Takehoko said as he put away his handkerchief and took of his tie "But please don't tell everyone, if people find out I'm here they'll want pictures and interviews. I don't mind them too much but a guy needs some time to breathe you know?" he said sighing

"Don't worry I'm not that heartless, but I heard you three talking about a duel and was wondering if I could tag along? It's not every day you get to see the champ duel up close. My name is Denchi, Denchi Hanabi." the boy said

"Thank you. And it's nice to meet you Denchi, this is Toshiru and Tanio. And you're more than welcome to watch our duel if it's alright with them too of course." Takehoko said with a sigh of relief

"I don't mind..." Toshiru said as he nodded to Denchi, who nodded in return

"It's fine by me haha, though I have to say what's up with your wardrobe? Your color combo is all kinds of wonky!" Tanio said as he chuckled to himself

"Like you're one to talk?" Denchi said as he laughed

"Whatever you say Hot Topic, so what's the scoop anyway? Are you a student here too?" Tanio asked

"Mhm, I'm a 1st year. I assume you two are as well?" Denchi said slightly irritated at the new nickname he acquired

"Yeah... we just got registered a little while ago." Toshiru replied

"Interesting, looks like we're all aiming for the pro league then." Denchi said as he saw the light above duel room 5 light up "I think the room is ready."

_The four boys entered the big room and saw a control panel. You could change the dueling rules, venue, and even play music while dueling! Tanio and Tokehoko shoot at opposite sides of the dueling arena and both activated their duel disks in unison._

"Alright here we go, the arena will be... Snowy Heights!" Toshiru said as he pressed the start button

_All of a sudden as if by magic, the room shifted and filled with snow! Toshiru and Denchi went to sit on the bleachers while Tanio and Takehoko stood atop two ice pillars._

"Lets see the strength of the champ!" Tanio said, his eyes burning with determination

"Oh you will, let's see if you have what it takes!" Takehoko said as he set his deck

_Both boys smirked as their duel disks powered on, this may be a field of ice but it looks like both duelists are getting fired up! Does Tanio have a chance to dethrone the champ? Find out in the next chapter!_


	4. Battle of Wills (Part 2)

"Duel!" Both boys shouted as a screen lighted up, showing their Life Points and fields.

Takehoko: 4,000 LP

Tanio: 4,000 LP

"I'll start things off if you don't mind!" Tanio said "I'll put a monster in face down defense mode and 2 cards facedown! Your up!" he said loudly

"And you're going down, I draw! I'll summon Noble Knight Artorigus in attack mode!"

_The monster rose up from the card, it was a knight in shining armor boasting 1,800 attack points and 1,800 defense points _

"Next up I'll equip him with a sword fit for a knight, I play the equip spell Noble Arms - Gallatin! This card gives him an extra 1,000 attack points, now I'll have him use those attack points to attack your monster!" _As Takehoko yelled, his monster lunged towards Tanio's facedown monster and slashed at it with the shining sword. _

"Hold on! I play the trap card Impenetrable Attack! This card can either make it so one of my monsters isn't destroyed, or I can take no battle damage! I choose the former to protect my monster!" Tanio exclaimed

_A yellow shield formed around Tanio's monster now revealed to be Dawnbreak Gardna with 1,500 Attack points and 500 Defense points, the sword was deflected by the shield and Dawnbreaker was safe... for now._

"Not half bad, you got me there." Takehoko smiled "I'll place two facedowns and end by turn."

"My turn, I draw! Since my Dawnbreaker is a Gemini monster, I can summon him while he's on the field to unlock his effect! And that's exactly what I'll do!" Dawnbreaker glowed as his effect unlocked. "Now thanks to his effect, my Dawnbreaker's original defense points now become a whopping 2,300! I'll play one more facedown and call it a turn!"

"You can't win with defense alone! I draw!" _'Hmmmm, he has two facedowns and a powered up Gardna huh? I could put the brakes on his facedowns with my facedown, Trap Stun. But I think I'll save that for later, instead...' Takehoko thought as he looked at his hand and cards on the field_

"Since it's my standby phase, Artorigus loses 200 Attack points due to Gallatin's effect. But that's still more than enough to defeat your Gardna! In the meantime I'll place a monster in defense mode and attack your Gardna!"

_The knight charged at the defending Dawnbreaker Gardna, in a battle of power Artorigus was sure to win, unless..._

"I play my two facedown cards, go Wall of Disruption and Spikeshield with Chain! First off, my wall decreases all of your attack position monsters attack points by 800 for every monster you have! You have two, so your knight loses 1,600 attack points! Then my SpikeShield gives my Gardna extra defense points based on it's attack! And he gains 500 attack points! So now he has 3,800 defense points!" Tanio exclaimed with a smirk

_'I could negate his traps now... but I should save it for a decisive moment!'_Takehoko thought as his monster ran straight into Dawnbreaker's fortified shield

Takehoko: 1,200 LP

Tanio: 4,000 LP

"I end my turn, nice one Tanio! I didn't expect you to go that intense from the start." Takehoko laughed

"I'm full of surprises! I draw!" Tanio said excitedly, he already had the lead against the champ! Only 1,200 life points left until he would win!

"I summon Ganbara Knight in attack mode!" Tanio yelled as a monster with two giant shields emerged from the card. It had an admirable 1,800 defense points but an attack power of 0. However due to his effect, Tanio could switch him into defense mode should he ever be attacked. "I'll play a facedown and end my turn!" With my facedown card Magic Cylinder, it doesn't matter where he attacks. He'll take his monsters attack points as damage and lose the duel, I can win this! Tanio thought excitedly

"Hey Carrot Top! You're not doing too shabby, don't mess up and you might even win!" Denchi yelled to Tanio from the bleachers

"Thanks for the encouragement Paramore, but there's no way I can lose now!" Tanio said proudly as he looked at his assembled field.

"I'm glad to see your confidence! But beating me is no easy task my friend, I draw!" Takehoko yelled

"I tribute my Artorigus, in order to special summon Ignoble Knight of Black Laundsallyn from my hand!" Takehoko said as a dark knight clad in pitch black armor rose from the card. His cape was as black as night, and he showed a staggering 2,000 attack points and 800 defense points. "Now for the fun part, since Gallatin went to the graveyard while equipped to a Noble Knight monster, I can equip it to my Ignoble Knight!" He said as the sword rose from the ground and equipped itself to Laundsallyn. "Now I'll activate his special effect! I can tribute one Noble Knight monster I control to add one Noble Arms equip spell from my deck to my hand! So I'll sacrifice my facedown Artorigus and I choose this, Noble Arms - Clarent! Next up I'll equip my Laundsallyn with these 3 cards, first I flip up one of my facedowns! Noble arms Caliburn, gives my monster 500 extra attack points and gives me 500 extra life points! Next up from my hand I equip him with my Lucky Iron Axe, and Clarent! My axe gives him 500 more attack points bringing him up to 4,000 attack! Takehoko said, exhilarated by the combo he had just performed

Toshiru and Denchi looked in awe as they saw what the champ had just accomplished

"Now I'll activate Noble Arms - Clarent's effect! I can pay 500 LP in order to have the equipped monster attack directly this turn! And finally I'll play this, Trap stun! This card negates all other trap cards effects for the rest of the turn!" Takehoko exclaimed

"Shit, without my trap cards I can't reflect his attack" Tanio said in a worried voice

"Battle! Ignoble Knight of Black Laundsallyn, attack Tanio directly!" Takehoko said in an excited voice

_The black swordsman lunged out with his swords and axe, and delivered a devastating blow to Tanio's life points as a result. Tanio was blown back from the damage and landed in a pile of artificial snow. He was defeated._

Final Duel Score:

Takehoko: 1,200 LP

Tanio: 0 LP

_Takehoko has shown his overwhelming strength to Toshiru, Tanio and Denchi! What will happen to them next? Find out in the next chapter!_


	5. Calm before the storm (Part 1)

"Well, I'd give the landing a 7/10." Takehoko chuckled as he walked over to help Tanio out of the snow pile "Still, to think you'd drive me into that much of a corner is impressive! Very well done, and thank you for the duel!" Takehoko said as he bowed to Tanio

"HUH?!" Tanio shouted "I should be the one thanking you for the duel man, you showed me I still have a long way to go before the pro league." Tanio said loudly as he brushed the fake snow off of him

"You didn't do too bad carrot cake! You're certainly not a total scrub." Denchi laughed as he got off the bleachers

"Yeah yeah, the last thing I need is a lecture from the Paramount reject." Tanio retorted as he looked at Toshiru fumbling to exit the bleachers _'Damn... looks like nothing's changed. Middle School, High school I still can't make you notice my skills...'_"Thank you for the duel though Takehoko, I learned a lot from it." Tanio said kindly

"Anytime, if you guys want I can take you back with my ride!" Takehoko said excitedly as he looked happy to spend time with his new friends

"T-that would be wonderful! But are you sure it wouldn't be too out of the way?" Toshiru said in a quiet voice as walked with Denchi over to the two boys

"Of course! It'd be my pleasure! Follow me!" Takehoko gestured to them as he put on a fake mustache and wig. His disguises seemed never ending!

_The four boys exited the room and headed outside, it was evening from when the boys had arrived at the school earlier that afternoon. Toshiru, Denchi and Tanio looked for a stretch limo, a sportscar. But instead they looked in confusion as Takehoko started up a rather small minivan_

"You're driving a minivan...?" Denchi said with a confused look on his face, it was an older car but in excellent condition. The bumper of the car was on the other hand was covered in... stickers? They proudly said "My son graduated Kindergarten" and "Proud Mom!"

Tanio and Denchi started snickering as the read the stickers "Wait mom, I think we have to pick up Tommy from soccer practice next." Denchi said as he chuckled

"Very funny." Takehoko smiled and laughed "I'll have you know this is my mom's car, once I can afford my own It'll look way more awesome!" Takehoko said excitedly

"Still, why not get a sportscar or one of the newer vehicles?" Tanio said with a confused look on his face

_The boys all got it and Takehoko turned on the engine. The car purred as it started up and Takehoko started driving_

"You see, before I won the Gauntlet... mom and I weren't exactly what you would call rich. Far from it in fact." Takehoko said quietly "We struggled to find food, a place to sleep, things normal people would usually take for granted haha. But we got what we could... It'd never be much but the surprises she'd give me meant much more than a dumb price tag. She actually got me this deck here for my 11th birthday, she said I could be her knight in shining armor and make a difference in the world." Takehoko said as he drove on the busy road, the sun starting to set in the distance

"I see, so the champ was a bum too huh?" Denchi chuckled before realizing he said too much

"Too?" Takehoko said as me made a left turn past the local card shop

"It's nothing, continue with your story." Denchi said quietly

Takehoko looked at Denchi with a concerned look but decided not to push it "I trained and trained every day until I could enter my first pro league qualifier. And by some miracle, I won! But I didn't have long to celebrate, the debt collectors still needed money from what my mom had to borrow for us. We weren't able to take it all, but we had a little bit and were at least debt free. After that I started practicing all day and here I am today. As for the car, this is my mothers pride and joy, so I wanted to get it refurbished for her!" Takehoko said as he pulled up to a fast food drive though "What do you guys want?" he said with a smile

"Want...? You don't have to Takehoko really! Just being able to meet you and have you drive us back is already way more than enough!" Toshiru said nervously

"I'll have a burger, shake, fries..." Tanio said as he started listing off more and more food items off the menu

"Geez, at this rate you're going to feed a whole village." Denchi said as he rolled his eyes "If you're sure about paying just fries for me." he said as he looked over at Tanio in the front seat and sighed

"I-if you're sure then just a salad for me please" Toshiru said while being embarrassed by Tanio

"Alright!" Takehoko said as he told the employee what they would like and paid the woman at the window with a tip included. He gave everyone their food and put his in his back in the paper back it came in before taking off on the road again

As they drove Takehoko and Tanio talked about what the pro league was like, while Toshiru and Denchi talked about their old schools

"So you went to West middle school eh? Must've been hell trying to beat those snobs in East huh?" Denchi said

"Yeah... they were tough. Even though we could beat most of their members, there was one duelist that almost none of us were ever able to beat." Toshiru said as he took a bite of his salad

"You mean Kazechi right?" Tanio said as he looked back at the two "Yeah, that bastard always seemed to win every duel he was in. I never liked him though, too much of a smug asshole." Tanio said as he took a big bite of his burger and followed it by a sip of his shake

"He wasn't a bad person, you just never gave him a chance. He definitely was serious when it comes to dueling though." Toshiru said as he took another small bite

"Here, I'll stop at this park so we have a chance to rest." Takehoko said as he pulled into the parking lot of the park. It was a green, beautiful park that was littered with playground equipment. The four boys continued to eat as Toshiru began to tell the story of the man named Kazechi...

_Who exactly is Kazechi? Why was he so renowned back in Toshiru and Tanio's middle school days? Find out in the next chapter!_


	6. Calm before the storm (Part 2)

_The wind started to pick up as the boys sat in the car with the inside light on, Denchi was reclining with his legs stretched out, while Tanio and Takehoko were sitting in the front seats looking back at Toshiru as he started to describe his story_

"Kazechi was unmatched in our school competitions back in the day. Any opponent he would face he would defeat with ease. But he wasn't without respect, it's just he was selective of who he showed it too. I was only able to duel him three times myself, each time was at the finals of our middle school division tournament. All three years of middle school I faced him in the finals and each time was different than the last. In our first year, I was able to just beat him to win our school the champion title... however. In our second year, his dueling skills had increased tremendously, I was only able to play him to a draw. Then our third year, I was completely beaten." Toshiru said as he neatly set aside his salad

"Sounds like quite the duelist, I heard of him while I was in South but never dueled him. You said he had respect, but I bet the bastard is as snobby as they come huh?" Denchi said as threw a fry up and caught it in his mouth

"He's... interesting. He's calm and calculated, but also fierce and merciless when it comes to dueling. We get along for the most part due to mutual respect, it's Tanio who he doesn't particularly see eye to eye with." Toshiru said as he looked at Tanio

"Yeah, he and I are couldn't see eye to eye even if you paid us. He's always be a stuck up brat in my eyes." Tanio said as he took a big sip of his shake

"I wouldn't be surprised if he's going to Altru Academy this year. He may act differently than us, but he has the drive to become a pro duelist just the same" Toshiru said quietly

"I see, looks like this year will be full of surprises. In any case it's getting pretty late, where should I drop you guys off?" Takehoko said as he put the keys in the ignition and started up the minivan

"Toshi and I both live in the neighborhood up on the left!" Tanio said as he finished off his food and drink "Thanks again for everything today man, it was awesome!" he said as the car pulled to a halt

"Hold on, before you two go let me register you both in my contacts" Takehoko said as he pulled out his smartphone, it was in good condition with a sword pattern as it's phone case

"A-are you sure?" Toshiru said in a surprised voice

"Of course!" Takehoko smiled and put his number is their phones and started up the car again "Let's meet tomorrow at that same park! How does 7:00 A.M. sound?" Takehoko said excitedly

"HUH?! THAT'S WAY TOO-" Tanio started to say as Toshiru stomped on his foot

"That sounds perfect! We'll meet you then!" Toshiru said as he told Tanio to be appreciative of the opportunity

"Yo Toshiru, Tanio. I'll add you both too" Denchi said as he took out his phone, it was an old school flip phone that had a gray and yellow color scheme

Denchi put his number in their phones and waved goodbye with Takehoko as the car pulled away back onto the road

Takehoko looked at the road ahead with a sad look on his face, he then came upon a red light and turned to Denchi who had now moved to the front seat

"I'd ask where you want me to drop you off but..." Takehoko said as he looked somberly forward at the road ahead "But I think we both know you don't have any idea where you want to go."

"Heh, I guess it makes sense you found out. You're definitely no dumbass that's for sure" Denchi chuckled as he looked up towards the starry sky above "Just let me off up here, if we keep going back and forth you'll end up out of gas" Denchi said as he finished his last fry

"Idiot, as if I'd leave someone out on the streets in the middle of the night. Come on, we're going my house to talk." Takehoko said as me turned the corner, Denchi started to object but held his tongue. He didn't want pity from anyone, but he knew he couldn't spend another night out in the cold

_The duo arrived at the Takehoko residence, it was a medium sized apartment in a big blue building. Takehoko skillfully parked the car in the designated parking spot and the two entered the hallway. The floors were a maroon color, not messy but they had spots of dirt and dust present. Takehoko took out his key and opened the door, the two entered and took of their shoes as Takehoko's mother came into view. She was an older woman in her 40s, she had golden colored hair just like her son and was wearing a fluffy light blue sweater._

"Hey Ma, I'm back! I hope it's okay I brought a guest along too!" Takehoko said happily as he pointed to Denchi who bowed to the woman

"Oh, you must be one of Konido's friends! It's nice to meet you, you two get comfortable I'll make some tea and get out some cookies for you both!" she said as she got up from her rocking chair and went towards the pantry, she then got some fancy looking cookies down from the top shelf

"Here, we can talk in my room." Takehoko said as he gestured to Denchi, the pair entered the room to find it plastered with old pro league posters and memorabilia. Aside from that it was a fairly standard room, equipped with a small TV and a fan. "So Denchi, what's the deal? You don't have anywhere to stay from the looks of it. And you surely can't stay out during the night in the cold, why haven't you looked for any help yet?" Takehoko said as he sat down in one of two beanbag chairs

"It's not as easy as it sounds, not many idiots would be so willing to let some bottom dweller crash with them. Besides even if i did ask, people would only judge and criticize me anyway. And I'm not up for being disrespected." Denchi said as he leaned back and took a bite out of one of the cookies.

"But I'm one of those idiots." Takehoko said as he sipped the hot tea "I know better than anyone how hard it can be to find somewhere to belong. To find somewhere warm and safe that you can call home." Takehoko said as he took a bite of the cookie

"That's fine and good, and I'm glad that you found a way out. But I don't have that opportunity, as much as I'd love to I can't win any big tournament or get sponsored. As much as it sucks to say, I'm just not at that level yet." Denchi said as he stared into the tea, seeing himself reflected by the raspberry flavored beverage

"Well then I'll just have to help you get there!" Takehoko said happily as he stood up from the beanbag chair "If you want to get into the pro league then there's no better way to learn from a member of it right?"

"Why are you trying so hard to help me anyway? It's not like we're best friends or anything, I only met you recently and yet you're willing to do all of this?" Denchi said in a neutral tone, he had been so used to prejudice and judgement before that he'd almost forgotten what care and generosity felt like

"Because of your eyes, I see a fire and spirit that isn't ready to give up yet burning in them! So whether you like it or not I'm helping you get to your dream." Takehoko said with a smirk, Takehoko was determined to help his new friend no matter what "And you'll start by staying here! Lucky for us we have a guest room just waiting to be used! Come on I'll get you settled!" Takehoko said as he led Denchi into the room

"It certainly looks nice..." Denchi said as he laid his backpack down onto the bed, it was a small yet beautiful room that had a certain charm to it.

"That's what I like to hear! I'll give you the grand tour!" Takehoko said as he patted Denchi on the shoulder and led him around the room. Denchi stood amazed at the generosity Takehoko had shown to him, a let out a small smile

_A new friendship has led to a bond fueled by understanding and compassion. What will happen next time? Find out in the next chapter!_


	7. Eye of the storm (Part 1)

_Denchi awoke from the sound of an alarm clock going off, it was a loud ringing that echoed through the entire room. He had set it for 6:00 in order to be ready to go with Takehoko to meet with Toshiru and Tanio. He got up from the bed and made it, he hadn't been used to having a bed before so his bed making skills were rather shabby. He then proceeded to his backpack and got out his toiletries, a standard setup of a toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, and a comb. He proceeded to the bathroom to finish his preparations, and upon his exit found Takehoko waiting at the entryway for him._

"Good morning sleepy head! Looks like you had the same idea to get up early huh?" Takehoko said as he straightened his tie and put on fake glasses and a baseball cap. His disguises seemed endless...

"Yeah, I didn't want to oversleep. Speaking of getting up early, when did you get up? I thought for sure that i'd be the first one awake." Denchi said with a yawn as he put on his backpack and tied his shoes

"Oh not too early, around 5:00 I'd say." Takehoko said as he unlocked the door and stepped outside

"5:00?! Don't you think that's a bit too early?" Denchi said in a surprised voice as he stepped outside of the door

"Not at all, I try to wake up by 4:00 every day if i can help it. I still can't believe I slept in today." Takehoko said as he locked the door and walked towards the car

"So what is it you wanted to do today anyway? And why so early?" Denchi said as my got into the front passenger seat

"You didn't forget what I said last night already did you? I said I'd help you stick your foot in the door to becoming a pro, and that goes for all of you." Takehoko said as he started the call and pulled out of the parking spot "Today I'll get you guys registered for extracurricular classes at the pro league workshop! There you can meet and learn from the retired pro league greats!" Takehoko said excitedly as he pulled into the parking lot of the park

_Just as they pulled in, Toshiru and Tanio walked into the park entrance. Toshiru was wearing his signature green sweatshirt with clean brown pants, his hair was straight and freshly washed. Tanio on the other hand, was wearing his tattered red jacket with equally as tattered black pants. His hair was messy with a clear case of bedhead, it was obvious which one had woken up on time. They ran over to the car and got into the backseats_

"Hey guys, it's nice to see you both. I thought you'd both be a bit hungry so I brought these." Toshiru reached into his backpack and brought out 4 protein bars. He gave them each a bar and proceeded to take a bit of his own. "So what's the plan for today?"

"Yeah, and why so early? I feel like a zombie.." Tanio said as he let out a big yawn

"The pro league workshop starts in 20 minutes! I was thinking we could we go there and get some good training in!" Takehoko said as he pulled out of the parking lot and started on the road "Besides, they have a small tournament today as well! Sounds like the perfect opportunity to get your feet wet with the types of duels you'll see in the league."

"Sounds like a plan!" Tanio said excitedly

_The boys soon arrived at the pro league main HQ, it was a giant building that pierced the skies. It was beautiful to say the least, and had a seemingly endless amount of floors to it. The boys got out of the car and walked towards the entrance of the building. Tanio and Takehoko were discussing new duel tactics and old pro league duels. Meanwhile Denchi and Toshiru were hanging back and the upcoming tournament_

"Hey Toshiru, if we face each other no holding back alright? I want to see your full power!" Denchi said in a fired up voice

"The same to you! I'll meet you in the finals." Toshiru said equally as fired up. Usually he was quite timid and quiet, however when it came to dueling and competition he became a different person!

"That's what I like to hear!" Denchi said as he smiled and opened the door to the building. The first floor was huge and flooded with people, it had spotless floors and multiple coaches and desks for visitors. The boys entered and followed Takehoko to the workshop area. It was the size of a gymnasium, with dueling fields littering it. As the started to take out their duel disks and decks, a tall boy started walking towards them

"Ishinaka, it's been a while. I hope you've been doing well." the tall boy said as he stood in front of the group. He straightened his glasses as he looked over the group, he had green and orange hair that was neatly combed and a look of seriousness and swagger that seemed unparalleled

"Kazechi, it's good to see you. I'm doing well, how have you been?" Toshiru said putting his hand out for a handshake

"I've been well, I'm using this tournament today as a way to boost my Altru Academy standings. After all the more tournaments you win, the more sponsor deals and internships you can receive." Kazechi said shaking Toshiru's hand firmly

"You're going to Altru Academy as well? That's great, it doesn't surprise me that you're going there though" Toshiru said

"Hey bastard, it's been a while huh? Since middle school right?" Tanio said as he walked towards Toshiru and Kazechi

"I don't have time to talk to losers. Especially disrespectful ones." Kazechi said as he glared towards Tanio with a disappointed look "I would have thought a scrub such as yourself would have passed on a tournament like this, seeing as it's full of people with real skill." Kazechi sneered as he looked towards Takehoko who was still wearing his glasses and baseball cap, and Denchi who looked back towards Kazechi with a neutral look

"You bastard... I'll mop the floor with you!" Tanio said angrily

"I see you've made friends with the current champion, and someone I'm unfamiliar with. I'm Kazechi Sorao, it's nice to meet you" Kazechi said in a neutral voice while ignoring Tanio, as he hadn't formally met either Takehoko or Denchi yet, he had no good or bad opinions on either of them

_'How can everyone tell it's me?!'_ Takehoko thought disappointedly, as he couldn't realize that his disguises weren't good at all

"It's nice to meet you as well, I'm Denchi Hibana. I gotta say it's nice to finally meet the big cheese of East in the flesh." Denchi said

"Thank you but I'd rather focus on the future. I'm going to become the best student at Altru Academy, and I'll start my ascent by winning this tournament." Kazechi said as he pushed his glasses up and took out his duel disk. It was green and blue to match his green hoodie and blue pants, it was a newer model like Takehoko's and lighted up as Kazechi put his cards into the deck slot

"Don't ignore me you snob, I'll crush you today you got that?" Tanio said as he glared at Kazechi

"Well I guess we'll just have to see who crushes whom now won't we. Just try to at least make it past the first round all right?" Kazechi said in a condescending tone "Ishinaka, I'm looking forward to our duel in the finals." Kazechi said as he walked off into the crowd of people

"Sorry Toshi, but I'll be the one to defeat that bastard." Tanio said as he looked towards the crowd, the fire in his competitive spirit had been roared awake and was burning with the strength of an intense inferno

_Meanwhile in the corner of the tournament venue, an unknown figure watches the group with an intense stare_

"I see... so he decided to show up for today's tournament after all. I can't wait to face him... Toshiru Ishinaka..."

_Things are heating up as familiar faces and unknown challenges rise up! How will this tournament play out? Who will be the ultimate winner? Find out next time!_


	8. Eye of the storm (Part 2)

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen! I'm here to officiate today's pro league workshop tournament! For those who don't know me, you can call me Koeru! Now let's get started with the rules, this tournament will be a single elimination tournament with each participant dueling once against an opponent each time! That means that instead of a best of three, it'll be a best of one so bring your A game!" Koeru said loudly into the microphone "Sign ups will now begin so get an application and turn it in as soon as you're finished! Also the tournament will start in 15 minutes so please hurry if you want to participate!"

The contestants filled out their forms and submitted them, the tension and intensity in the arena was apparent. Each duelist was seasoned, experienced enough to have complete confidence in their victory. Toshiru, Tanio, and Denchi filled out their forms and submitted them as Kazechi did the same. Takehoko sat down in the spectator seats for a good view of the tournament, as a current pro league duelist he was forbidden to participate in tournaments designed for non pro league competitors.

"Alright, it looks like we've gotten all of our submissions! The number are participants we have for today's tournament is... 32! A perfect bracket number!" Koeru said excitedly into the microphone "And here is the bracket!" Koeru said as the bracket appeared on a large screen in the arena. The bracket was divided into 4 blocks with 8 contestants to a block. Toshiru was apart of block A, while Denchi was in block B, Tanio was seeded into block C and finally Kazechi was placed into block D. There were four mini gymnasiums attached to the large building, each labeled with a letter: A, B, C, and the last mini gym was designated with a D.

"Looks like I won't see you guys until the finals!" Tanio said in an excited tone, this was his chance to really make his mark in the pro league scene!

"Yeah, looks like it. You guys better be ready to lose because I'm in it to win it! Especially you Beeker." Denchi snickered as he continued to poke fun at Tanio's bright orange hair

"I'll meet you guys back on this stage for the finals! We can do this!" Toshiru said as his eyes lit up with anticipation

_The boys all said their goodbyes and headed to their block arenas. As Toshiru entered block A, he noticed a live duel feed on a large screen. It seemed that after one's duel was concluded, they could watch the other participants matches in order to formulate strategies to counter their future opponents. The duelists got into position for round 1 as each of the contestants started up their duel disks, and the fields turned on. As the round started off our heroes were able to sweep through the early competition._

Toshiru: 3,200 LP

Noyao: 300 LP

"Naturia Beast! Finished off this duel!" Toshiru shouted as a green monster with the face of a tiger and the body of a lion leapt out and slashed at Noyao. Dealing him 2,200 points of direct damage, causing his life points to go down to zero

"Ahhhhhhhh" Noyao shouted as he was blown back from the attack

Noyao: 0 LP

_Just as Toshiru was able to win his match, the other boys were able to find their winning formulas_

Denchi: 2,400 LP

Hikera: 500 LP

"Batteryman Industrial Strength! Shock his systems and his life points!" Denchi said as a giant monster resembling a battery lunged out. Two jumper cables shot out from it's back and connected to the opponents duel disk. An electric current traveled through the cables and shocked Hikera with 2,600 points of damage, depleting his remaining life points

Tanio: 1,000 LP

Yochiza: 2,300 LP

"Now I'll play shield and sword! With this spell card all monsters attack and defense points are switched until the end of this turn, meaning my Dawnbreak Gardna now has 2,300 attack points! Now Dawnbreak, finish this match off!" Tanio shouted as the gray monster jumped out. It was a large monster in a suit of armor, with shields on each arm. It slammed into Yochiza with it's shield and depleted the rest of her life points

Kazechi: 4,000 LP

Sawero: 100 LP

"Now Mecha Phantom Beast Tetherwolf, attack this scrub's life points directly!" Kazechi shouted as his monster zoomed towards his opponent. Tetherwolf was a large gray helicopter looking monster, and with a large gust of wind equaling to 1,700 attack points it depleted all of Sawero's remaining life points

"It looks like our contestants are really getting fired up! We'll be starting round 2 in 30 minutes after a short break! Be ready then duelists!" Koeru said into the microphone

"Guys! We all made it past the first round! I'm getting so hyped up!" Tanio said, giving Denchi and Toshiru each a high five

"I gotta say I'm impressed, I didn't think you had it in you Tanio. When did you get good at duel monsters huh?" Denchi said while giving Tanio a noogie

"Since always, and what's more surprising is you calling me by my actual name." Tanio said while freeing himself from the noogie

"Don't get used to it hothead. Still I'm impressed nonetheless, if you keep that up you might even make the semi-finals." Denchi said with a smile. "The same to you Toshiru, you dominated your first duel easy."

"Thanks but it wasn't that cool haha, I mean did you see Kazechi? He didn't even take a single point of damage." Toshiru said as he looked at his deck, sure he did well in the first round. But doing well wouldn't be enough to win the tournament...

As he said that, Kazechi approached the group and looked towards Toshiru, he pushed up his glasses and parted his hair

"Ishinaka, I see you've passed through the first round. Not that it surprises me, us three, including your friend Hanabi, are the best duelists here. Everyone else is either a scrub or a wannabe, or both. I emphasize the last part in regard to Tanio over here." Kazechi said in a serious tone

"Oh yeah?! Well it looks like if we both keep winning we'll face each other in the semi-finals! And when we do face off I'll show you real strength!" Tanio said as he got red with anger, Kazechi was his complete opposite and it was shown by how they interacted with each other

"I actually can't wait to duel you Tanio, it'll be a good warm up for the finals. Now tell me again, who were your six losses in middle school to? Oh that's right, it was to myself and Ishinaka, three losses a piece. So before your head gets any bigger with delusions of grandeur, please try to remember who the real duelists are." Kazechi said in a condescending tone "Ishinaka, I'll see you in the finals." Kazechi said as he walked away towards his next match in block D.

"I wish you two could get along better... I mean you're both incredible duelists.." Toshiru said in a quiet voice

"Me get along with him? Now that's delusional!" Tanio said with a laugh "Toshi, Denchi, you guys better win your matches got it? I'm not letting any of us lose until we make it to the semis!" Tanio said as he ran towards block C

_As Tanio ran into the arena, Takehoko walked up to Toshiru and Denchi and fist bumped both of them_

"I'm proud of you guys! The sponsors definitely seemed interested with your performances, keep it up and you might even start off the school year with a sponsor deal already in the bag!" Takehoko said as he patted them on the backs "Now don't go losing you hear? I expect to see you both in the semi-finals!" He said as he waved and walked back to his seat. This tournament would prove the current standings of all the pro league hopefuls, whoever won this would certainly have a step ahead the rest.

"Good luck Toshiru, I'll be rooting for you when I win my match." Denchi said as he walked towards arena B

"Likewise!" Toshiru said as he ran to block A, he could do this. All he needed to do was win four more duels and he'd win the entire tournament

_The second round roared to a start as the duelists in each block faced each other for a shot to get into the quarterfinals. As expected, Toshiru, Denchi and Kazechi all won their duels handily. However while Toshiru and Denchi did well, Kazechi was the only one of them not to lose a single life point in the process. Elsewhere, Tanio seemed to be struggling against a formidable opponent..._

Tanio: 1,000 LP

Zaroko: 600 LP

"First I'll play book of moon to change your Dawnbreaker Garnda into facedown defense mode, and now I'll summon my Mad Sword Beast! Next, I'll attack your Dawnbreaker Gardna with my Mad Sword Beast! And since my Sword Beast has 1,400 attack points compared to your monsters 500 defense points, you take 900 points of piercing damage!" Zaroko yelled as the giant rhino charged towards Gardna, piercing his shield in the process

"Damn it...!" Tanio said as he got pushed back, his life points whittled down to a measly 100.

"And with that I'll end my turn!" Zaroko said as he smiled, his field was near empty except for one monster being Mad Sword Beast. But as long as Tanio didn't draw a monster strong enough, he would win next turn

"I... draw!" Tanio said as he drew a new card, with this he had three cards in his hand. A polymerization which was currently useless, a shield and sword card which could come in handy only if he had a strong enough defensive monster, and the card he just drew...

'_As long as it's a monster I have a chance... come on!_' Tanio thought as he looked at the card... it was a spell card...

_Tanio looked in horror as his luck seemingly ran out, would he be out of the tournament so soon? Would he be able to mount a comeback? Find out in the next chapter!_


	9. Eye of the storm (Part 3)

_Things looked grim, Tanio had no monsters on the field and 3 seemingly useless cards in his hand.. as he looked at his opponents field he started to sweat. If he didn't do something big this turn, he would lose the duel and be out of the tournament! Tanio started to breathe faster as his hands shook a bit and his knees fell to the ground, he couldn't lose.. he had come so far and was so close to victory! It seemed like his will was broken, but then he heard a loud voice from behind him...!_

"Tanio! I don't remember you being such a half assed bastard! You've never given up before and you aren't about to now! You just need to find a way to win!" the voice said as Tanio turned around to see who it was. It was Toshiru! He was drenched in sweat from running across the stadium to get to arena C. He looked serious and smiled as he gave Tanio a thumbs up and said "And besides, we're going to duel in the finals aren't we?"

_Tanio stood up and breathed outwardly, he wasn't done yet... not even close! He looked at his cards saw what he had to work with. A polymerization card, shield and sword, and the card he just drew... reload! It was a gamble, but he had to do it!_

"I activate reload! Now thanks to this I can shuffle two cards back into my deck and draw two new cards!" Tanio shouted as he put the cards in his deck, the duel disk lit up and his cards started auto shuffling. This was it... the moment of truth!

"Come on..." Toshiru said as he watched the decks shuffling come to an end

"I... draw!" Tanio yelled as he drew his first card. Shit, it was shield and sword again... one more time.. this next card had to save him...! "I draw again!" Tanio said as he smiled with determination and a reignited fire!

"What did he draw..." Takehoko said as he watched with the judges. Since he was seated at an official judge section, he was able to remove his disguise and his eyes started to widen as he saw what Tanio had in store

"I summon to the field... my Mid Shield Gardna in attack mode!" Tanio said as he placed the card on the duel disk. A humanoid monster rose from the card, it had long red hair and a big blue and golden shield on it's left arm. It boasted a powerful 1,800 defense points, but only had 100 attack points! "Next up I'll play the shield and sword card! With this, all monsters attack and defense points are swapped! Meaning my Mid Shield now overpowers your Sword Beast by 600 attack points!" Tanio yelled

"You've gotta be kidding me..." Zaroko said in disbelief as the monsters point values were switched

"Now Mid Shield, attack his Mad Sword beast!" Tanio shouted as the shield shot from Gardna's arm and slammed right into the rhino! The Mad Sword Beast shattered and with that, Zaroko's life points went all the way down to zero!

Tanio: 100 LP

Zaroko: 0 LP

"I did it... I DID IT!" Tanio yelled as he jumped up and down, he had been able to make it into the quarterfinals of his first official pro league sponsored tournament!

"You sure did..." Takehoko said as he crossed his arms and smiled

Kazechi rose from the arena C stands and looked at Tanio who in turn looked back to face him

"Hmph, I guess even scrubs can improve a little bit." Kazechi said as he exited the arena and headed towards arena D for the block D final match. Tanio looked at Kazechi with a triumphant smile, he hadn't beaten him yet... but he made Kazechi acknowledge his skill!

"Damn it...!" Zaroko said frustratedly as his knees hit the floor. Tanio walked over to him and put out a hand to help him up

"That was sweet! You backed me into a corner, and to be honest I only won due to dumb luck haha" Tanio said as he helped Zaroko stand up

"Tanio Iwaota, I lost to you today. You were the better duelist, but next time will be different! I'll be rooting for you in your next match." Zaroko said as he extended his hand for Tanio to shake

"Of course! I'll take you on anytime!" Tanio said shaking his hand with a smile

_Meanwhile... the last match of block A was coming to a close. A long haired girl was facing off against a huge looking biker. So far the score was very uneven with the girl sitting at 500 LP and the Biker at 4,200 LP. The girl moved her silver hair from her eyes and drew a card and smiled as a dark aura emanated from her, the current field was interesting to say the least. The girl had three facedown defense position monsters and one facedown card, meanwhile the biker had one monster on the field . A synchro monster called Stygian Sergeants, with an impressive 2,200 attack points!It was a two headed monster that even had wings! It rode a terrifying motorcycle with blue monster shaped handlebars that led into turbo boosters in the back!_

"I activate needle ceiling!" The long haired girl shouted as various spikes fell from the sky and landed on Sergeant. "You see, when there are four or more monsters on the field, I can activate this card to destroy all face-up monsters on the field! And your Sergeant is the only face-up monster!" She explained as the Stygian monster shattered into pieces. "I now flip summon all three of my monsters! Come on out, Ghostick Mummy, Ghostrick Stein and Ghostrick Ghoul!" A mummy, a zombie looking monster and frankenstein looking monster all arose from the cards, together they all had a combined attack power of 4,200! Exactly enough to finish off the bikers life points.

"Now my monsters, attack him directly!" The girl said as her three monsters jumped forward and attacked the biker, depleting his life points to zero as he cursed at her

"That was a fluke! There's no way someone could beat me, you had to have cheated somehow! You're a loser who shouldn't be able to compete!" the biker said as he yelled and scowled at the girl who simply laughed at the idea he was presenting

"Excuse me sir, but I don't remember allowing trash to join this tournament. As an official member of the pro league I'll kindly ask you to leave the premises. This will be your last kind warning." Takehoko said as he walked between the biker and the girl. "Firstly, don't accuse others of cheating just because you lost. And secondly, don't say that people shouldn't be able to compete. Anyone can play duel monsters and anyone can enter these workshop tournaments. Do I make myself clear?" Takehoko said with a stern voice, he was usually so calm and well mannered but when it came to bullies he couldn't hold back his disdain.

"The champ?! Hey Yaroki, get a load of this! The pretty boy champion actually showed his face for once!" the biker said as he laughed grossly "I bet I could beat him with my eyes closed." the biker said as he let out a belch

"You're right Utawe, I bet he just got lucky. He probably has no skill at all." Yaroki said as he spit on the block A floor grotesquely

"First you come in here and berate a duelists skill and their right to participate, then you proceed to insult me and desecrate our tournament ground. For that I will show you both no mercy, I have a proposition for you both. I'll take you both on in a 2v1 duel, if you two defeat me I'll cut this entire tournament short and move you two directly to the finals..."

"Huh? You think you can beat us both at once?! You must be pretty stupid hahaha" Yaroki said as he picked his nose and laughed loudly. He truly was the epitome of a trashy person.

"You didn't let me finish, and it's rude to interrupt." Takehoko said as he took out his duel disk and undid his tie. "If I defeat you both, you will both be banned from ever participating in the pro league. And will have to do community service around the city from now on. Sound fair?" he said as he turned towards the oafs

"Sure, not like a dumbass like you could beat us both anyway hahahah" Utawe said as he finished off his beverage and threw the bottle on the ground

"I'll teach you both some manners here and now, prepare yourself for a lesson in respect." Takehoko said he his duel disk lit up

"Duel!" All three men said as the dueling field roared to life

_Who will win this 2v1 duel? Will Takehoko be able to show these goons how a true duelist should act? Find out next time!_


	10. Eye of the storm (Part 4)

_As Takehoko and the two ruffians started their duel, Denchi, Toshiru, and Tanio all entered the arena. They walked towards the stands to find Kazechi sitting alone in the top seating. Denchi and Toshiru went up to join him while Toshiru dragged Tanio along with them. However when they were about to sit down, the long silver haired girl from before bounded up the steps and faced towards Toshiru_

"I finally found you..." the long haired girl said with a smile, as the dark aura from before resurfaced. "You're-" she started to say as she was cut off by Tanio

"The one the only, the incredible ultra mega super Tanio Iwaota!" Tanio said puffing his chest out, as he was still riding the high of his latest victory

"If you have time to gloat then you have time to improve moron. Then maybe you'd become a decent duelist." Kazechi said sharply as he glared at Tanio

"What was that?!" Tanio said as he scowled back at Kazechi

"Who cares about you? I finally found the person I've been searching so long for..." the long haired girl said as she looked at Toshiru with stars in her eyes

Kazechi smiled as Tanio looked disheartened as no one was interested in him after his win

"Why are you interested in Toshiru?" Denchi said leaning against the wall, out of the whole group here he and Toshiru were easily the most quiet and reserved

"He's my best friend and boyfriend obviously! Come on, let's go watch from up close!" the long haired girl said as she started pulling Toshiru down the steps

"Who said you were his best friend or girlfriend?!" Tanio said loudly "And who are you anyway?"

"Me? I'm Furuiko Reita, I don't usually give out my name to nobodies but if you're friends of Ishi then I guess I'll make an exception" Reita said as she tugged Toshiru down to the front row with her

"Um, Furuiko..." Toshiru started to say still rattled by all that just happened

"Silly! Call me Reita!" Reita said, her dark aura reappearing

"Alrighty Reita... if I may ask it must have been a while since we've seen each other since I can't seem to put the name to a face..." Toshiru said quietly as he tried to remember

"It would make sense since I dyed my hair from brown to silver after all. Still I'm unbelievably unquestionably hurt that you couldn't remember me... just kidding!" Reita said as she laughed and held on to Toshiru's arm

'_This girl is all over the place..._' Toshiru thought with a confused look on his face. '_Still... brown hair she said... could it be?!_' Toshiru thought as he came to a revelation. "You, you're Reita from North aren't you! I remember we faced each other way back in our second year of middle school!" he exclaimed as Reita smiled big and nodded

"Yes yes! That's me, I remember how kind you were... how courageous..." Reita gushed over seeing him in person again while Toshiru looked at her slightly puzzled.

"What did I do to make you think all that...?" he said in an embarrassed tone, he wasn't used to being complimented so much

"You taught me about dueling! I remember after every meet our schools had, you'd always stay late and help me practice with my Ghostrick deck!" Reita said as she smiled at him

"You remembered that all the way until now...?" Toshiru said in a surprised voice

"Of course! I think it's due to my deck type that people don't want to duel me too often, isn't that odd?" Reita said as she laughed. Not fully realizing it was due to her blunt personality that people were nervous of dueling her. They looked on as all three duelists began the duel

"I'll start things off then! My move!" Takehoko said as he looked at his hand. He started off with a perfect balance of monsters, spells, and traps at his disposal.

"I'll summon my Noble Knight Artorigus in attack mode! But he won't be here for long, since I'm sacrificing him to summon forth this! Come on out, Ignoble Knight of Black Laundsallyn!" Takehoko said as the black knight rose from the card, showing off it's powerful 2,000 attack points

"Next up I'll play this! Shard of greed! Now every time I draw a card for my draw phase, it's effect will place a greed counter on this card. And then I can remove two counters to draw two cards! With that I'll place one card facedown and end my turn." Takehoko said as he smiled confidently, he wasn't about to let these two jokers push him around

"My turn, I'll show you how a real duelist plays you runt! I draw!" Yaroki said as he drew a card from his duel disk. "I'll summon this, go Giant Orc!" Yaroki shouted as a giant green orc rose from the card, it had an impressive 2,200 attack points but a nonexistent 0 defense points. "I'll end my turn there, after all I should take it easy on the kid right Utawe?" Yaroki said as he laughed

"I'm up, I draw!" Uwate said as he drew a card and smiled "I summon to the field a Giant Orc as well!" Uwate said as another giant green orc emerged from the card. "And I'll end things there hahahaha"

"I'm up again, I draw! And since I drew a card, a counter is added to my shard of greed! Now I'll switch Laundsallyn into defense mode and play one card facedown." Takehoko said smiling

"I draw then! I'll have my Giant Orc attack your monster! Too bad it's too puny to survive even one attack!" Yaroki laughed as the Orc lifted it's giant bone club and prepared to strike the knight

"Hold on! I'll play this, my impenetrable attack trap card!" Takehoko looked up to Tanio and winked, obviously using this tactic from their duel "This means my monster isn't destroyed by this battle! And your Giant Orc is switched to defense mode since it attacked!" Takehoko said as the bone club bounced off of Laundsallyn's sword

"Damn, I'll end my turn then!" Yaroki said as he spit on the floor again, he got outplayed and he knew it

"I draw, and I'll have my Giant Orc attack and demolish your knight once and for all!" Uwate said, not noticing that Takehoko had another facedown card set and ready for action

"I activate the spell card, enemy controller! This card lets me change the battle position of one of my opponents monsters! And I choose your Giant Orc Uwate!" Takehoko said as he smiled, outplaying the pair again

"Not bad at all, with this he should have everything he needs..." Kazechi said as he watched the move just played by Takehoko

"What do you mean? He can win just like that?" Tanio said with a confused and annoyed look

"Of course he can moron, watch what he does next." Kazechi said looking at Takehoko, who was ready to deliver the final blow to these jokers

"It's been a blast but I'm going to end this duel right now! I draw!" Takehoko said as he drew a card, and because of that the spell card he had activated gained another counter. "I'll activate shard of greed's effect! By sending it to the graveyard with two counters I can draw two more cards! Next I'll activate my pot of greed!" Takehoko said as he drew two more cards from his deck. "The stage is set for my victory, I activate four equip spells!" Takehoko shouted as the audience and bikers were shocked

"D-did he just say four...?!" Yaroki said now nervous about the new developments

"I think we're in trouble...!" Uwate said as he started to shake

"Trouble...? Oh no I'm afraid It's much more serious than that, for disrespecting the pro league, myself and that girl right there!" Takehoko said pointing to Reita, who was much more focused on Toshiru than the duel itself. "I will show you no mercy, now I play two Axe of Despair cards! With this my Laundsallyn gains 2,000 attack points, brining him to 4,000! Next I'll activate Big Bang Shot! Now when my monster attacks a monster who has fewer defense points than my monster's attack points, the difference is dealt to you as damage! And Laundsallyn also gains 400 attack points! Finally this, go Assault Armor! My monster gains 300 attack points, but I can send this card to the graveyard to allow my monster to attack twice this turn! Which is exactly what I'll do!" Takehoko shouted as the audience was dumbstruck at his crazy combo

"That means with our 0 defense points and his 4,400 attack points..." Uwate muttered in a nervous voice

"You're toast. Now Laundsallyn, attack their monsters and end this duel!" Takehoko said as his black knight leapt forward and slashed both of the giant orcs. Yaroki and Uwate were blown back and fell in their own spit as their life points simultaneously fell to zero.

Takehoko: 4,000 LP

Uwate: 0 LP

Yaroki: 0 LP

_Takehoko has shown his terrifying power once again to bring justice to the two ruffians! How will the rest of the tournament play out? Who will face whom in the next round? Find out next time!_


	11. The Optimistic Occult Duelist (Part 1)

"That just about settles things. As per our agreement you are both hereby banned from entering pro league sponsored activities until further notice. And I expect to meet both of you at city hall tomorrow for details on your community service work as well." Takehoko said as he walked over to the two men, they were furious after their humiliating defeat

"Like hell you bastard!" Yaroki said as he stood up and charged towards Takehoko, his fist raised and closed

"Thought so..." Takehoko sighed as he dodged the punch and threw his own punch. Takehoko's fist was headed straight for Yaroki's face before stopping right in front of it. "Leave now, don't make me ask you again please." Takehoko said pulling his arm away and looking straight into Yaroki's eyes

"L-let's go, this place is full of losers anyway. Come on Uwate!" Yaroki said as he walked towards the entrance utterly defeated. The audience all stood up and gave Takehoko a round of applause, he had been used to dealing with ruffians but those two were especially bad.

"Looks like Konido was able to beat them both. Giving his skill it's not surprising though." Kazechi said as he got up and headed down the steps to go to his next match. He was almost at the bottom of the steps when he heard a loud voice from the top of the bleachers

"Oi bastard, you better not lose your next match so I can face you in the semi-finals you got that?" Tanio said with a smirk, he could finally show Kazechi how much he'd grown as a duelist!

_Kazechi looked up at Tanio and then turned to face Toshiru, who had been talking with Reita about their old middle school duels. Toshiru turned to Kazechi and saw Kazechi's eyes, his green eyes burned with an indomitable fighting spirit that made Toshiru smile. He knew that this tournament was only just getting started!_

"Ishinaka, good luck in your next matches. I expect a good duel from you in the finals" Kazechi said as he headed towards the entrance of block C

"Count on it." Toshiru said as he got up and headed towards Takehoko in the center of the arena. "Takehoko that was great!" Toshiru said as he waved to Takehoko, who turned around and waved back

"Hey Toshiru! Looks like you've been doing great in the tournament so far!" Takehoko said as he walked to meet Toshiru in the center of the arena "Are you all excited for the quarterfinals?" Takehoko said as he noticed Denchi, Tanio and Reita walk towards them.

"Of course, my next match should be a piece of cake." Denchi said as he yawned

"Don't get cocky just because you won your first two matches already Zumiez! I'm still gonna be the one to win this whole thing!" Tanio said as he gave Denchi a confident smirk

"Is that right?" Denchi said with an annoyed yet amused look on his face

"Hell yeah, I'm winning this whole thing!" Tanio said giving Denchi a noogie as revenge for earlier

_As they were all horsing around, the giant screen from earlier lit up with the matches for the quarterfinals. There were no matches between any of our heroes, except..._

Toshiru turned to Reita who looked him straight in the eyes and smiled "It looks like it's you and me Reita! Toshiru said as he smiled

"Win it Toshi so I can duel you in the finals!" Tanio said as he ran off to arena C's entrance

"Toshiru, if things all go according to plan I'll see you in the semi-finals." Denchi said as he walked towards arena B's gate

"Later guys! Let's have a great duel Reita!" Toshiru said with a bright smile

"Right!" Reita said as she walked to the opposite side of the dueling field, with them being the last two of arena A. Reita smiled as she placed her deck in her duel disk, it was a started duel disk like Toshiru's. It was custom colored with various purples and maroons on it. Both duelists smiled as the field lit up, the lights went off as the room was to be illuminated by the field light for this duel

"Let's duel!" Both duelists shouted in union as they each drew their 5 cards

Toshiru: 4,000 LP

Reita: 4,000 LP

"I'll start us off!" Reita shouted "I place a monster in facedown defense mode and one card facedown! It's your turn Ishi!" Reita said as she looked in anticipation to Toshiru's move

"Alright then! I draw! I'll summon my Naturia Pumpkin to start off!" Toshiru shouted as a cute green pumpkin arose from the card holding a small yellow flower. "Now for the fun part, due to my pumpkin's effect if you control a monster, I can special summon a Naturia monster from my hand! Arise Naturia Vein!" Toshiru said as a monster covered in leaves rose up from the card

"Wow Ishi! Not bad at all! Too bad I have this, I activate my facedown trap card! Go, torrential tribute! Now when a monster is summoned, I can destroy all monsters on the field!" Reita said as a giant stream of water blasted out of the card, aimed straight at the monsters on the field!

"Hold on! I activate my Rose Archer's effect! When I control a plant type monster, I can send this card from my had to the graveyard to negate a trap cards effect! And that's exactly what I'll do!" Toshiru said as a black haired ninja appeared from the card and shot a rose colored arrow at the trap card. The trap burst into pieces, it's effect negated.

"Whoa not bad at all! You're every bit as tough as I remember Ishi!' Reita said in an excited voice

"You think that's good? Watch this! I tune my Naturia Pumpkin and my Naturia Vein in order to synchro summon! Come on out, Naturia Beast!" Toshiru shouted as the green beast jumped out of the card. It had a tiger's face with a lions body, and was equipped with branches in the shape of armor. It was a powerhouse that showed off 2,200 attack points and 1,700 defense points.

"Now Naturia Beast! Attack Reita's facedown monster!" Toshiru said as the beast lunged forward and slashed at the defensive monster. It was a brown fuzzball with green arms and legs, it's most distinguishable features were it's long nails and three yellow eyes. It screeched as it was destroyed by the beast, Reita smiled as her duel disk lit up.

"Thank you Ishi! Since Sangan was destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can add one monster with 1,500 attack points or less from my deck to my hand! And I'll choose this card!" Reita said as her deck auto shuffled itself

"I'll play a card facedown and end my turn!" Toshiru said confidently, he wasn't able to deal any damage but he had the strongest monster on the field! However he also knew that he couldn't duel Reita lightly, she didn't make it this far because she was lucky.

"My turn! I'll show you a monster that'll knock your socks off Ishi!" Reita said as a dark aura emanated from her, she was about to change the whole dynamic of this duel in one move

_How will this duel play out? What does Reita's occult deck have in store for Toshiru? Find out next time!_


	12. The Optimistic Occult Duelist (Part 2)

_Toshiru looked over at Reita with anticipation, sure she was nice and happy-go-lucky... but her skill as a duelist was terrifying. Toshiru looked at his field and then back hers... 'Why does she seem so confident..? Sure the duel just started but I've already busted out one of my ace monsters. It doesn't make sense unless she has a trump card of some kind.' Toshiru thought while observing her dark aura 'And then there's that... what's this weird feeling I'm getting from her..?'_

"You're probably wondering why I seem so confident huh?" Reita said gleefully

"H-how did you...?!" Toshiru said shocked, was she a clairvoyant as well?!

"The truth is..." Reita said as a dark smile crossed over her face and she started to laugh. Toshiru prepared himself for the news, the news that even he wasn't prepared to hear...

"I am... bad at socializing!" Reita said triumphantly as Toshiru feel backwards, shocked by the rather mundane news

"That's your secret...? Your big reveal?" Toshiru said standing up, still very confused about the situation

"Of course silly! What else where you expecting?" Reita said while laughing

Toshiru sighed as he looked at Reita, she really was unique that was for sure. But she was a tough opponent... so far he had played right into her hands by wasting his Rose Archer on her trap card. Sure it saved his monsters but she still got what she wanted out of it as well...

"I draw! I activate pot of greed, with this I can draw two cards from my deck!" Reita said as she drew her two cards and smiled, she was already back up to 5 cards! "Now I'll summon my Ghostrick Skeleton!" Reita shouted as a small skeleton with a black cloak appeared from the card, it had a small scythe that it carried proudly. "Now I'll activate double summon, like the name implies I can make a second summon this turn! So now I'll summon another Ghostrick Skeleton!" Reita said as a second small skeleton jumped out of the card. "And now for the real showstopper! Since I have two level 3 monsters, I can build the overlay network and xyz summon!"

Toshiru looked on in complete shock at the extensive combo Reita had just preformed, a bead of sweat ran down his face as he watched on

"I xyz summon... Ghostrick Alucard!" Reita said as her monsters turned into two shining bright lights, what was born was a terrifying looking monster. A vampiric looking creature with pure white skin, it had a black suit outfitted with a red and green ascot, a red and black cape, and dark maroon pants. It showed off an impressive 1,800 attack points and 1,600 defense points, to say it was unnerving was an understatement...

"Now I activate Alucard's effect! I have use one of my two overlay units to destroy one facedown card, and I choose your facedown card!" Reita said as one of the glowing circles swirling around Alucard shot towards Toshiru's facedown card, destroying the card now revealed to be Wall of Disruption instantly.

"Damn it..." Toshiru said as he witnessed his card be wiped away like it was nothing.

"I'll set one card and end my turn!" Reita said with a big smile "It's your turn Ishi!"

"Alright, I draw!" Toshiru said as he drew another card from his deck. Bringing his current hand up to three cards.

_'Man... she's definitely got a good strategy set up. Reita has a combo to destroy my spells and traps and even facedown monsters... but there has to be a way around it!'_ Toshiru thought as he looked over his hand

"Alright, first off I summon Naturia Cliff to the field in attack mode!" Toshiru said as a stone wall looking monster rose from the card. It had messy red hair and sticks as a wreath around it's head, it showed an impressive 1,500 attack points and a decent 1,000 defense points.

"Now Naturia Beast, attack Ghostrick Alucard!" Toshiru shouted, the beast leapt up and slashed at the vampiric creature until...

"I play my trap, go magic cylinder!" Reita said as Toshiru gasped in shock. "Thanks to this trap card, once you attack me with one of your monsters I can redirect that attack right back to you!" Reita exclaimed as the power from the slash entered one cylinder and shot out of the other, slamming Toshiru with 2,200 points of damage!

Toshiru: 1,800 LP

Reita: 4,000 LP

"Damn... I play two cards facedown and end my turn..." Toshiru said, still reeling from the damage he had just recieved

"My turn then, I draw! This is fun huh Ishi!" Reita said smiling, she was merciless even to her crush! "Now I'll activate Alucard's effect once more! I use his last overly unit to destroy your leftmost facedown card!" Reita said as the glowing circle shot and destroyed Toshiru's facedown card now reveled to be mirror wall was destroyed.

"Now I'll summon this, Ghostrick Ghoul!" Reita said as a zombie monster appeared, it had a white mohawk and long purple nails. "Now I'll activate it's effect! I can choose one Ghostrick monster on my field, and it gains the attack points of all other Ghostrick monsters on my field! I choose Alucard, so now he gains my Ghoul's 1,100 attack points! This'll bring him up to 2,900 attack points until the end of this turn!" Reita said confidently as she looked at Toshiru "Now Alucard, attack his Naturia Cliff!" Reita shouted as the vampire jumped forward towards the rocky monster

"I play this, go Half Unbreak! Now my monster isn't destroyed, and I only take half the damage!" Toshiru said as a giant bubble formed around the rocky monster, protecting it from destruction. However the shockwaves still blew Toshiru back, taking 700 life points from his already sparse total.

Toshiru: 1,100 LP

"You're every bit the duelist I remember you were! No matter the challenge you always stay strong and never give up!" Reina said with stars in her eyes. "But I'm not letting you win this one, I play one card facedown and end my turn!" Reita said as she yet again placed another card facedown, reducing her hand size to one card.

"Alright I draw! I'll start my turn off by playing pot of greed!" Toshiru said as he drew two cards from his deck. "Next up I'll summon Naturia Cosmobeet to the field!" Toshiru said as tiny beet monster jumped out from the card, it was extremely small with 3 flowers on the top of it's head. "And now I'll tune my Naturia Cosmobeet to my Naturia Cliff to synchro summon! Come on out, Naturia Barkion!" Toshiru shouted as a blue and green dragon rose from the card, it's scales where light green and looked very durable. It exuded a mythical presence, as it showed off it's 2,500 attack points and 1,800 defense points.

"Looks like you have two powerhouses now huh Ishi? But that still won't save you from my all out assault!" Reita said bubbly as she smiled and winked towards Toshiru

"Reita, you may know my deck from when we were in middle school, but there's no way you can see this on coming!" Toshiru said with a smirk "I activate polymerization! I fuse my Naturia Beast and Barkion together to form this!" Toshiru shouted as the two monsters merged together, a blinding light emanating from the newly fused monster. "Appear... Naturia Exterio!" Toshiru said with a while as the new monster leapt from the card, it looked near identical to Naturia Beast, with the addition of a Naturia Barkion themed helmet. It was stronger than both of the previous monsters with 2,800 attack points and 2,400 defense points. The audience roared as the witnessed the spectacle, it was a fusion of two synchro monsters! The monster roared as it shined a green glow, the light illuminating the dark arena.

"It looks like you're full of surprises.." Reita said while looking at the new monster Toshiru had summoned. It would be a pain to take that creature down.

"I'm not even close to being finished, this duel is just getting started!" Toshiru shouted as he looked at Alucard and smiled "Now Naturia Exterio, attack Ghostrick Alucard!" Toshiru said as the beast ran towards the vampiric creature

_Which monster will come out on top? Who will win this ominous duel? Find out in the next chapter!_


	13. The Optimistic Occult Duelist (Part 3)

_Reita hadn't known friendship and comradery as a child, she always seemed to be on the outside looking in. People were frightened by her awkwardness and her occult dueling style, she had tried and tried but no one would give her the chance to be friends. Until... she met him. He wasn't a particularly interesting boy by any means, he was polite and quiet but seemed to be a passionate duelist. They had met in their first year of middle school after a duel club meeting between North and West, a young Toshiru was putting out club supplies and noticed a long haired girl sitting alone in the corner. It wasn't unexpected to see people who wanted to be on their own to focus, Toshiru had remembered last weeks meeting with East where he saw Kazechi do the same thing. This was different however, the girl looked sad and alone, being the person he was Toshiru got worried but didn't know how to help. He was friendly but was by no means a social butterfly, he walked over to the table she was sitting at and but on a smile._

"H-hey! I saw you were sitting here alone and was wondering if you were okay! My name is Toshiru!" Toshiru stuttered nervously as he noticed a duel disk and deck on the table, she was studying new strategies for her deck. "Whoa! You have a Ghostrick deck? That's so cool!" Toshiru exclaimed, he had never seen anyone use a Ghostrick deck before and was fascinated by the deck.

"Thank you... I'm Reita..." the brown haired girl said as she looked up, she was used to seeing people be curious of her Ghostrick cards but knew it was only because it was a rouge deck. As such, she didn't get her hopes up that this person wanted to be her friend.

"It's nice to meet you Reita. It looks like everyone else is getting started with dueling, if it's alright would you like to duel me?" Toshiru said in an awkward voice

"A duel...? With... me...?" Reita said as she lifted her head, when she had attended the meets at other schools most people wouldn't want to duel her. So she had gotten used to studying her cards and thinking of new strategies alone... but now someone had gone out of their way to challenge her to a duel...

"Yeah, I mean after all dueling new people is the best way to make new friends!" Toshiru said as he got out his cards, he might've been shy and awkward but he never missed the chance to make a new friend while dueling.

"Alright... let's duel...!" Reita said as she got out a game mat and a small timer, her favorite type of dueling was unique. As incredible as the solid vision holograms and cool effects were, she loved dueling on standard games mats the best. The two smiled shyly as they started to duel...

_Back in the present, Naturia Exterio charged towards Ghostrick Alucard. If this attack landed successfully, Toshiru would finally lower Reita's life points!_

"Too bad Ishi, but I activate this! Go mirror force! Now all your attack position monsters are destroyed!" Reita shouted as the trap card became revealed.

"Sorry Reita, but I activate Exterio's effect! Now by removing one card from my graveyard, and by sending the top card of my deck to the graveyard, I can negate the activation of a spell/trap card on the field! So I remove Naturia Cliff and send the top card of my deck to the graveyard to negate mirror force!" Toshiru shouted as a barrage of leaves shot from around Exterio, negating and destroying the trap card. "Now go Exterio, destroy Reita's Alucard!" Toshiru said as Exterio slashed at Aluard, destroying the vampiric creature and reducing Reita's life points by 1,000 points!

Toshiru: 1,100 LP

Reita: 3,000 LP

"Now I'll end my turn!" Toshiru said as he smiled, he was finally starting to make a comeback!

_In the stands Takehoko was watching the duel intently, Toshiru may have struck back but it looked like Reita wasn't finished yet either... this match would be a tough one to call._

"My turn, I draw!" Reita said as she drew a new card from her deck, bringing her hand up to two cards. Things weren't looking good, she had one monster and two cards on the field. However...

"I'll switch my Ghostrick Ghoul into defense mode and set one monster in facedown defense mode to start off! Then I'll place one card facedown and end my turn!" Reita said confidently, what could she be planning...

"Alright then I draw! And now I'll have my Naturia Exterio attack your facedown monster!" Toshiru said as his monster jumped out and slashed the facedown monster, destroying it instantly

"Thank you Ishi! You just destroyed my Ghostrick Yuki-onna, and when it's destroyed I can switch the monster that destroyed it into facedown defense position! And you can't switch it's battle position either!" Reita said happily as Toshiru has fallen right into her trap

"I play one card facedown and end my turn!" Toshiru said as he looked at his field with a concerned look, his main win condition had just been sealed away...

"I draw! I'll activate my facedown card, go powerful rebirth! Now I can choose one monster in my graveyard and special summon it to the field! And the plus side is that my monster gains 100 attack and defense points and 1 level! So come on out, Ghostrick Skeleton!" Reita said as the cloaked Skeleton appeared from the ground, it was now a level 4 monster with 1,300 attack points and 1,200 defense points. "Next I'll activate the card I just drew, go Synchro Boost! With this card my Ghostrick Ghoul gains 500 attack points and his level is increased by 1!" Reita said as a blue light surrounded the zombie looking monster.

"What the..." Toshiru said with a surprised look, all of a sudden Reita had two level four monsters on the field, was she planning on xyz summoning again?!

"Now watch Ishi! You're not the only one full of surprises! First I activate my facedown card, go I overlay my Ghostrick Ghoul and my Ghostrick Skeleton to xyz summon!" Reita said as the zombie and Skeleton turned into two spheres and combined together to form a new monster.

"Not good..." Toshiru said with a nervous smile, he was in trouble now...

"Come on out! Ghostrick Angel of Mischief!" Reita shouted as a pink haired girl appeared from the card, she wore a black dress and had bright green eyes. The monster's wings were a combination of black and white, and it had a black top hat with a maroon feather in it. The monster was stronger than Alucard, with an impressive 2,000 attack points and 2,500 defense points. Reita had summoned the monster in defense mode, obviously making use of it's high defense points. "Now for her effect! Once per turn I can remove one overlay unit to add one ghostrick spell or trap card to my hand, and then one per turn I can equip one ghostrick card from my hand as an overlay unit for her!" Reita said with a triumphant look on her face

"So you can continuously add ghostrick spell and trap cards to your hand... not a bad effect." Toshiru said as he looked at the new monster, it was certainly a powerful monster but it's effect didn't seem too dire. It was then however that he saw the rest of the monsters effect on his duel disk and gasped...

"I can see you saw the other part of my Angel's effect right Ishi? Once I get 10 overlay units onto Angel of Mischief, I win this duel!" Reita said as she winked at Toshiru, she finally had him right where she wanted him! "Now with that I'll end my turn!" Reita said as she parted her long silver hair

"Alright then! I draw! I'll play another card facedown and end my turn!" Toshiru said as he looked at his field. He had Exterio as his only monster card, but he couldn't change it's battle position manually so it was stuck. And he had two trap cards facedown on the field Meteorain and Zero Gravity. Meteorain could let his monster deal piercing damage to Reita's monsters, but he had no attack position monsters. On the other hand Zero Gravity could change all monster's battle positions, but it could only work on face up monsters... so Exterio would be unaffected...

"My turn, I draw! And I think I'll activate my Angel's effect! I make the Ghostrick Yeti in my hand one of her overlay units, bringing her up to 3 now!" Reita said as another glowing sphere circled around the angel. "And with that I'll end my turn!" Reita said as a determined look came across her face, she could win this in just a few more turns!

"Alright, I draw!" Toshiru said as he drew another card, it was Megamorph! This equip spell card could double a monster's attack points as long as the controller's life points were lower than their opponents. Although it wouldn't be too useful given on how Toshiru had no attack position monsters. Toshiru looked worried as he ended his turn, it was like he was running on a treadmill... he was getting nowhere fast!

_What will the outcome of this duel be? Will Toshiru be able to overcome Reita's killer strategy? Find out next time!_


	14. The Optimistic Occult Duelist (Part 4)

_As things were heating up in block A, the final matches of the other blocks were drawing to a close..._

Kazchi: 4,000 LP

Teruyo: 2,000 LP

"Now Mecha Phantom Beast Jaculuslan, attack this loser's life points directly!" Kazchi shouted as his monster flew towards Teruyo. The monster blew past him causing a giant gust of wind to slam into the duelist, depleting his life points.

"You weren't a complete disappointment, for a scrub that is." Kazechi said as he looked at the screen projecting the block A finals. He noticed that Toshiru was in a bind and gritted his teeth, was his rival really about to lose before they got a chance to duel? Kazechi packed up his cards and headed towards block A, he had to see how this duel ended.

_Meanwhile in block B, Denchi was finishing up his duel as well..._

Denchi: 3,100 LP

Rigata: 900 LP

"Now Batteryman Charger, attack his Mermaid Abyssnose!" Denchi said as an electric blast fired from the battery monster. It's 2,400 attack points were more than enough to destroy the 1,500 attack point Abyssnose, and to end the duel! The blast connected with the Mermaid and destroyed it in a shocking blast, depleting Rigata's life points to zero. Denchi breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the screen and noticed Toshiru and Tanio were still competing in their duels, he looked as Tanio was finishing off his opponent and Toshiru was struggling to make a move.

"Looks like he's in quite a jam..." Denchi said as he pulled up his hood and walked towards block A to see how the duel would play out.

_Finally in block C, Tanio was putting the finishing touches on his winning strategy!_

Tanio: 1,000 LP

Feruna: 1,800 LP

"Now I'll play shield and sword to swap my Mid Shield Garnda's attack points! Meaning that he now has 1,800 attack points to attack you directly! Now Mid Shield, finish this duel off!" Tanio said as a shield shot out from Mid Shield's arm.

"You can't be serious!" Feruna said as the shield slammed into him and made his life points drop to zero.

"Booyah! I'm in the semi-finals!" Tanio said as he pumped his fist into the air with satisfaction, he did it! Tanio wiped the sweat off his brow as he looked at the giant screen and noticed Toshiru's perilous situation. "Shit! Toshi is actually losing?! I'll be there soon buddy!" Tanio said as he collected his cards and ran towards block A

As Tanio ran to block A, he ran directly into Denchi who had been listening to music on an iPod he had borrowed from Takehoko the night before. As the boys picked themselves up, Tanio looked at Denchi and then the iPod which had fallen out and noticed the music he was listening to... it was Paramore. Tanio started laughing as Denchi got up

"Oh shut up. Anyway, you're on your way to see Toshiru's duel too aren't you?" Denchi said as he walked with Tanio towards the arena A entrance

"Yeah, I didn't expect him to have so much trouble with that silver haired girl." Tanio said as he stretched his arms

"Furuiko Reita. I remember her from the South and North meetups, she never really talked and mostly just stayed in the corner reviewing her cards. But whenever she had to duel she was unstoppable. It's not surprising Toshiru is having trouble beating her." Denchi said as he noticed Kazechi approaching the arena A entrance as well.

"Hey man, looks like you made it into the semi-finals too." Denchi said as he looked at Kazechi

"I have, congratulations to you as well Hanabi. You're a duelist worth respecting." Kazechi said as the three stood before the doors to arena A

"What about me?! I'm in the semi-finals too you bastard!" Tanio said as a fiery aura appeared around him, he always seemed to get heated when he was around Kazechi.

"Congratulations Iwaota, you may not be the hopeless scrub I thought you were. But you're still out of your mind if you think you have any chance of winning this tournament." Kazechi said as he opened the doors to arena A

"You'll just have to see my skills firsthand then!" Tanio said as he entered the dimly lit arena, it was dark except for the dueling field in which Toshiru and Reita were dueling at. Fitting for a duel against an occult duelist.

"Hey hey, if it isn't three of the four semifinalists!" Takehoko said as he walked up to the three boys with a smile on his face "I gotta say I'm impressed, all of you have put your all into this tournament and it shows in your performances." Takehoko said as he led the boys to the spot where he was sitting.

"Thanks Takehoko, I'll be sure to win it all." Denchi said as he took his hood off

"Thanks Takehoko! I'm psyched that I actually made it this far! Then again I am me so it was obvious I would!" Tanio said as he puffed his chest out confidently

"Thank you for your praise Konido, but I'm not like some morons who are just content on making the semi-finals. I'm going to win this whole thing." Kazechi said as Tanio glared at him

"Well then, let's see who will join you all in the semis." Takehoko said as the boys sat down and watched the duel continue on

"I draw! Now I'll activate my angels effect again! I'll equip my Ghostrick Mummy from my hand as an overlay unit! This brings her up to 4!" Reita shouted as the mummy became a shining sphere and began to circle the angel. "I end my turn! You're up Ishi!"

"I draw!" Toshiru said hoping for a monster, no dice... he had drawn another half unbreak. "I'll throw down a facedown and call it a turn!" Toshiru said as he started to sweat a bit, the pressure was on, if he couldn't find a way to end this duel soon he would lose...

"Alright I draw! And I'll play this, pot of greed!" Reita said happily

"Another one...?!" Toshiru said in shock, this just went from bad to worse...

"Mhm! Now I can equip my Ghostrick Yuki-onna and Ghostrick Stein to my Angel! Bringing her up to 6 overlay units!" Reita said as she looked at Toshiru "Isn't this fun Ishi! I'll end my turn so now your up!" Reita said as she blew a kiss to Toshiru, she liked him but she wasn't about to lose this duel

"Alright then I draw!" Toshiru said as he looked at the card, finally a monster! "I place a monster in defense mode and end my turn!" Toshiru said with a relieved look on his face, he had strengthened his defenses at least for the moment

"Not a bad move Ishi! But now it's my turn, I draw! And I play A feather of the phoenix! This card lets me choose one card from my graveyard and add it to the top of my deck! And I choose pot of greed!" Reita said as Toshiru sweated more, time was running out... "I'll end my turn with that!" Reita said with a wink

"I draw! I summon another monster in facedown defense mode!" Toshiru said as he thought about his options, he couldn't attack yet so this was the best he could do... "That'll end my turn..." Toshiru said as he took a deep breath, he just needed to think...

"I draw then! And now I'll play pot of greed to get two cards for the price of one! Well look at this! I drew another pot of greed, I'll activate that now as well! Reita said as she drew her new cards, bringing her hand count up to three. "I'll activate my angel's effect to equip Ghostrick Lantern and Ghostrick Jackfrost to her! Bringing her overlay unit count to 8!" Reita exclaimed as a snowman monster appeared and instantly turned into one of the glowing spheres circling the angel. A moment after, a monster with a pumpkin head appeared on the field, it had a witches hat and a cloak and like the snowman, instantly turned into a glowing sphere that circled the angel

"Shit..." Toshiru said as Reita was two turns away from ending this duel...

"Next I'll activate this! Go, Book of Taiyou! With this I can switch one facedown monster into face up attack mode! I choose your facedown monster to the left!" Reita said with a smiled as Naturia Eggplant rose from the card with a measly 1,000 attack points. "Now I'll switch my angel into attack mode and have her destroy that eggplant!" Reita said as the angel shot a dark blast at the eggplant, destroying it immediately and dealing Toshiru 1,000 points of damage! "I'll end my turn with that!" Reita said as she smiled at the move she just pulled off

Toshiru: 100 LP

Reita: 3,000 LP

"I draw then!" Toshiru said as he looked at the card he just drew, it was a polymerization... useless at this time... "I'll end my turn..." Toshiru said gritting his teeth, he could barely do anything at all...

"Come on Toshi you can do this!" Tanio yelled from the seats, he would support Toshiru as Toshiru had done for him

"Tanio..." Toshiru said while looking over to his friend, things may be grim but he couldn't give up!

"I draw then, luckily for you I didn't draw a ghostrick card, but I did draw this! I equip my Angel with the axe of despair, raising her attack points by 1,000! Now I'll have her attack your defense mode monster to the right!" Reita shouted as the angel shot the enchanted axe at the monster, Toshiru could save his monster now but... he needed to save that trap card for Exterio... The monster was revealed to be a Naturia Pumpkin, it poofed into smoke as it came into contact with the axe. Toshiru had one monster left...

"I'll end my turn with that!" Reita said as she twirled her long hair

"I draw!" Toshiru needed some luck with this draw... unfortunately he drew monster reincarnation... another card useless at the moment... "I'll end my turn here..." Toshiru said as he wiped away more sweat, he couldn't lose like this... could he?

"My turn then! I draw and activate my angel's effect to equip her with the Ghostrick Yeti I drew just now!" Reita said as a Yuki jumped out from the card, a flower in it's hand. It didn't stick around for long however, as it became a shining sphere that joined the others in circling the angel. She now had 9 overlay units... "And now I'll attack your Exterio! Go Angel of Mischief!" Reita said as the angel threw an enchanted axe at the now face up beast.

"Too bad, I play this! Another half unbreak! This means Exterior is safe this turn from destruction!" Toshiru said as he smiled a nervous smile "I'm not out of this duel yet!"

"Not bad at all Ishi! But I'm afraid next turn might be the end of you in this tournament. I'll end my turn now though, it's your move!" Reita said with a smile, she didn't want to defeat Toshiru, but she wasn't going to lost to him. She wouldn't hold back one bit!

"This is it... if Toshiru can't draw a card that can save him here he's toast." Denchi said leaning back on the bleachers

"Come on Toshi!" Tanio yelled

"Ishinaka, now is the moment of truth..." Kazechi said with a neutral look

"I wonder how this turn will go..." Takehoko said with a smile, this duel had been an absolute treat to watch

"Here goes...! I draw!" Toshiru exclaimed as he drew a card from his deck... it was a field spell card called Naturia forest, absolutely useless at this juncture... but it didn't matter. Toshiru already had all the cards needed for his victory

"Reita, this has been an incredible duel! But I'm afraid this is where It's going to end!" Toshiru said as he looked at his hand and field. Everything was set...

"What...? Ishi I love your hopeful attitude but you can't defeat me like this. You can't change your Exterio's battle position, and my angel still has more attack points. I'm sorry but this is the end of the duel for you not me Ishi." Reita said with a sullen look, she felt bad about the thought of defeating Toshiru, but it would be disrespectful of her to hold back against him

"You're right Reita, I can't change Exterio's battle position... so I'll let this card do that for me! Go zero gravity! With this card, all monsters on the field change their battle positions! Meaning Exterio is now back in attack mode!" Toshiru exclaimed in a determined voice

"What can he do with that move?" Tanio said with a puzzled look on his face

"He can win the duel." Kazechi said with a smile

"Now I'll activate this card! Go megamorph! This equip spell doubles my monster's attack points as long as I have fewer life points!" Toshiru said as Exterio shined with a green glow, as it's attack points rose to a staggering 5,600!

"I still won't take any damage even if you destroy my angel of mischief!" Reita said as a bead of sweat ran down her face

"Sorry but this is the end Reita, I play my final trap card! Go meteorain! Now when my monster attacks your defense mode monster, if my monster has more attack points the difference is dealt to you as damage! And Exterio's 5,600 attack points minus Angel of Mischeif's 2,500 defense comes out to 3,100 points of damage! Now Exterio attack her angel!" Toshiru yelled as Reita looked on in surprise and shock... but also in a smile

"After all this time... you haven't changed a bit Ishinaka..." Reita said as Exterio destroyed the angel of mischief, wiping out Reita's remaining life points

Toshiru: 100 LP

Reita: 0 LP

_With a fiery determination, Toshiru has overcome the block A finals! How will the semi-finals play out? Who will face who in this intense battle of wills? Find out next time!_


End file.
